2008 Year One Experience At Road Atlanta - Take It To The Track

CHP Visits The 2008 Year One Experience

It's The Most Fun You Can Have On Asphalt Without Getting A Ticket.To be honest, the CHP team couldn't have been more excited when we were invited to attend the annual Year One Experience at Road Atlanta. It was a no-brainer and took us all of about three nanoseconds to accept the request. We seized the chance and made our way to Braselton, Georgia, which is only a short, two-hour drive outside Atlanta. Our pilgrimage across the state landed us in the beautiful facility at Road Atlanta, which any right-minded motorhead would certainly call home.

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Once every 12 months, Year One treats its customers and fellow manufacturers to a huge event-so big, in fact, that it's been dubbed "The Experience" because it incorporates so much of the aftermarket automotive industry. During the event, participants were given loads of opportunities to really get involved. That's the great thing about this event: It's not just any ol' car show. Traditionally, car shows are purely observer-based with no real interaction with the cars being viewed. The Year One event gets its participants involved with a pure "hands-on" environment. It creates a relationship-and that's important.

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As participants cruised the grounds, they had a plethora of options at the tips of their fingers. They had the ability to join Air Ride Technologies' timed dry autocross, push the limits of acceleration and braking with SSBC's 0-60-0 mph challenge, or sign up for the Skip Barber racing school. If that wasn't enough, gearheads even had the chance to take parade laps around 2.54 miles of the Road Atlanta circuit in their own cars, or they could jump into the passenger seat of any number of vehicles from Air Ride or Detroit Speed & Engineering or even try out Year One's Forza Motorsports Camaro track car. What's more fun than blasting around a road course in the very cars that you see in the magazines?

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If this still wasn't enough action, then a quick drive over to Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, brought you to where the heads-up racing was taking place. If you were a Year One participant, then you had the opportunity to flog your sled on the track to see what it was made of. Friday afternoon and evening were reserved for the test and tunes while Saturday and Sunday were left for ORSCA racing.

There was also plenty of ground to cover and mingle through for the showgoers. The car show field was packed with a ton of cars, featuring everything from completely stock showroom vehicles to wild custom creations, which were all competing for the acclaimed Year One Cup award. It's more than just a handshake or a trophy. It's an honor, and the winner is not only awarded a $5,000 Year One gift certificate, but also has the chance to be featured in a number of magazines and television shows.

This show is what it says it is: an experience, and one that you should try and make it to when it comes around again next year. Plan accordingly, though; you'll need more than a day to experience all that this show has to offer. Take a look at some of the items and vehicles we highlighted from the 2008 Year One Experience.

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2008 Year One Experience At Road Atlanta - Take It To The Track

At the Year One booth, the company showcased what's possible using Year One's off-the-shelf products to build its very own cars. If you had any questions you could ask the experts right there on the grounds for advice.

One of the many vendors present at the show was Detroit Speed & Engineering. The company was glad to show off its new second-gen Camaro front subframe, which comes complete with brakes, upper and lower A-arms, and an integrated front sway bar.

MTI Racing from Marietta, Georgia, was on scene to display many of its vehicles. This one in particular is MTI's beta test vehicle. As of now, it's got an LS1 with a Magnuson blower, and this combo generates 500 hp and 550 lb-ft to the rear tires at 3,500 rpm. It also has the company's big brake kit and custom coilover suspension. Look forward to seeing a full kit from MTI soon.

Built specifically to showcase what can be done with Year One's products, this Forza Motorsport Camaro was laying down the law all weekend. It made fast-lap passes on the big track all day long without even a hiccup. The sheetmetal is all reproduction components, including the trim.

Hidden in the hills of beautiful Braselton, Georgia, lies 2.54 miles of pure bliss. Road Atlanta serves as a full road course circuit with the ability to accommodate a test facility as well. This race track's own community resides in the center of the track with separate wet and dry autocross tracks as well.

Mike Greenway's '68 Camaro caught our eye so we had to snap a photo of it. We learned it was once owned by Jerry Glanville, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons football team. Mike claims 25 mpg on the highway with a built LT1 and a 9-inch rearend with a locker.

Here anxious participants wait to try their hand at autocrossing their GM musclecars on Air Ride's sponsored circuit. Their goal was to beat the clock and each other in this timed event. Each guest got four laps to give it all they had. The fastest time overall was set by Don Ondrejcak in his '03 Vette with a lap time of 26.48 seconds, winning him a $500 gift certificate.

The participants can't have all the fun. Here Bret Voelkel of Air Ride Technologies stretches the legs on the company's newly finished '68 Camaro, dubbed Velocity.

Dave Briles of Monroe, Georgia, brought this '71 Vette to the grounds to show off. It sports a big-block with a four-speed. He says it's a blast to drive and he loves bringing it to local shows.

Detroit Speed & Engineering's '69 Camaro was in full effect making hot laps on Road Atlanta's Circuit. This is DSE's very own test car that's outfitted with prototype parts prior to hitting the public. The Camaro was going nonstop all weekend and further proved the reliability of the company's components.

Once again, Air Ride Technologies was at it on the autocross track. This time, Brad Coomer was at the helm of the company's '71 Camaro. We think Brad and Bret may have had a small side bet going as to who would have a faster time.

Seen one, seen them all? Not in this case. David Kinev brought this 427ci-powered '69 Yenko Camaro. It was nice and simple with its black coat and white hockey-stick stripe.

In recognition of his dedication to and relationship with the American musclecar and performance industry, Kevin King, Year One's president, was given this one-of-a-kind tire, presented by BFG. It includes the logos and signatures of many publications, including Chevy High Performance. His work and devotion to the industry has affected all of us and motivates us all to build better cars.

We love seeing things out of the ordinary. This meager-looking S10 is actually powered by an LS1. It's owned by Adam Moore of Bufford, Georgia, and while it was still in its "construction" stage, he wasn't afraid to make fast laps on Road Atlanta and we admired his spirit.

The shoebox Nova is a great project car-if you can find one. Robert and Lisa Spradley out of Dallas, North Carolina, own this subtle 383ci-powered '67 Nova II.

And here it sits in all of its glowing glory: the famous Year One Cup. Only one lucky individual who won the respect of all the judges received this trophy. And not only that: The winner also received a $5,000 gift certificate.